1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to broadcast signal receiving apparatuses having a remote controller for performing remote control operation, and more particularly to a broadcast signal receiving apparatus having an external input to which an external image signal or audio signal is inputted.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, with the development of digital processing technology, compression coding technology, and broadcast communication technology, digital television broadcasting communication is in practical use. The digital television broadcasting communication was first applied to satellite broadcasting such as BS (broadcasting satellite) broadcasting or CS (communication satellite) broadcasting, and was then applied to terrestrial broadcasting. As for terrestrial broadcasting in Japan, analog broadcasting communication and digital broadcasting communication are currently performed for the same contents with the aim of completing the transition from analog to digital broadcasting in 2011.
As described above, there are different types of communication systems including not only terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting, but also digital broadcasting and analog broadcasting, to offer television broadcasting service. To deal with this situation, a broadcast signal receiving apparatus (television receiver) provided with tuners for different types of communication systems to receive all the television broadcasting services according to these different types of communication systems has previously been proposed.
Incidentally, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus has external input functions for receiving image and audio signals constituting the content from a reproducing apparatus such as a video tape player or a DVD player. The external input functions have come to be diversified into various kinds including, in addition to a conventional external input such as a video input using an RCA terminal or S-terminal, an external input using a D-terminal serving as an input terminal for digital broadcasting and an external input using an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) terminal or a D-SUB terminal used for connection with digital consumer electronics, such as PCs, that have come into widespread use in recent years.
Moreover, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus is provided not only with an input button that is directly operated by the user, but also with a remote control system using a remote controller (hereinafter a “remote control”) for performing remote control operation. Currently, a broadcast signal receiving apparatus that can receive terrestrial digital broadcasting, terrestrial analog broadcasting, and satellite broadcasting is made available. As shown in an external view in FIG. 10, a remote control used in a remote control system of such a broadcast signal receiving apparatus includes, in addition to buttons 101 for specification of the channel and buttons 102 for changing the volume or channel, broadcast specification buttons 103a to 103d for specification of broadcasting to be received.
That is, if the user presses the broadcast specification button 103a, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus is instructed to receive terrestrial analog broadcasting; if the user presses the broadcast specification button 103b, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus is instructed to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting; if the user presses the broadcast specification button 103c, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus is instructed to receive BS broadcasting; and if the user presses the broadcast specification button 103d, the broadcast signal receiving apparatus is instructed to receive CS broadcasting.
Furthermore, since this broadcast signal receiving apparatus not only receives different broadcast signals, but also receives different external inputs, it is necessary to specify, with the remote control, not only a broadcast signal reception state in which a broadcast signal is received, but also an external input state in which an external input is received. Thus, the remote control shown in FIG. 10 includes a state changing button 104 as a button for instructing to change the broadcast signal reception state and the external input state.
As a result, it is possible to change the operation of the broadcast signal receiving apparatus in sequence to each of the reception operations of different broadcast signals and different external inputs with each press of the state changing button 104. That is, it is possible to change the operation of the broadcast signal receiving apparatus in sequence from reception of terrestrial digital broadcasting, to reception of terrestrial analog broadcasting, to reception of BS broadcasting, to reception of CS broadcasting, to reception of video input, to reception of DVD input, to reception of HDMI input, and to reception of PC input, for example, by pressing the state changing button 104.
In the conventional remote control system using the remote control constructed as shown in FIG. 10, changing a broadcast signal to be received only requires pressing any one of the broadcast specification buttons 103a to 103d once. However, depending on the current operating state, specifying an external input may require pressing the state changing button 104 multiple times. The reason is as follows. The operating state is changed by the state changing button 104 in a previously determined order. As a result, when the current operating state is changed to the next operating state, it may be changed to a different broadcast signal reception state. This requires the state changing button 104 to be pressed again until the operating state is eventually changed to a desired external input.
As described above, in a case where a broadcast signal to be received is changed, the presence of the special buttons such as broadcast specification buttons 103a to 103d makes changing operation using the remote control less troublesome. However, in a case where the operating state is changed from a broadcast signal reception state to an external input state, it is sometimes necessary to press the state changing button 104 multiple times, making the changing operation troublesome. Certainly, it is possible to provide additional buttons for specification of an external input in order to reduce the number of times the state changing button 104 is pressed. However, if the required number of buttons having a size easy to press are provided, this inconveniently leads to a larger button area, and to a larger remote control.